Marilyn Tavenner

For the past two years, Marilyn Tavenner, who had bipartisan support when selected by President Barack Obama to run the CMS, has served as CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, the leading trade association for health insurers.

Modern Healthcare's inaugural Leadership Symposium brought together two dozen of the nation's top healthcare leaders to discuss the major forces disrupting the industry and the next direction of healthcare policy after President-elect Donald Trump's unexpected victory.

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act final rule released earlier this month includes funding to create and implement a core set of performance measures to be used by private and public insurers alike.

Enduring influence is the central theme for many of the names atop this year's list, Modern Healthcare's 15th annual ranking. Coming in at No. 2 and No. 3 this year are CEOs of two of the nation's largest healthcare systems. The nation's payers are also well represented at the top.

Two key players in the passage of the ACA warn that if Donald Trump becomes president, he and congressional Republican leaders could indeed abolish key elements of the law and roll back its insurance expansions and consumer protections.

A superficial reading of the latest headlines about the health insurance industry suggests it is facing serious problems, but the steady drumbeat of bad news for insurers is showing up everywhere except in the finances of the major carriers.

Virginia Mason Health System CEO Dr. Gary Kaplan, Jefferson College of Population Health Dean Dr. David Nash and Women's Hospital CEO Christina Ryan say the healthcare jobs of the future will be shaped by the demands of quality and safety, work-life balance and managing population health.

ONC head Dr. Karen DeSalvo, Castlight Health CEO Dr. Giovanni Colella and Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Toby Cosgrove hold out hope that innovation can overcome hurdles like poor interoperability and the limits of clinical science to make healthcare better and less expensive for patients and consumers.

Congress' decision to suspend the Affordable Care Act's tax on health insurers for one year will cost the government $13.9 billion, funding that normally would go to cover subsidies for low-income enrollees and other functions of the law.